If you haven't heard (a lot of people don't watch the network newscasts, after all), Morgan Freeman has replaced Walter Cronkite as the voice of The CBS Evening News. Last night, Craig Ferguson played the outtakes from Freeman's intro to the show. It could be an impersonator, but it sounds like Freeman.

Now, those of you who never watch The CBS Evening News are probably saying, "of course they replaced him. Didn't he die months ago?" Yes, he did, but he recorded the opening ("This is TheCBS Evening News, with Katie Couric") before he passed away and the show kept the same opening even after he was gone.

And who is the new announcer? It's none other than Andy Dick! This is a daring choice by CBS. OK, I'm kidding, it's actually actor Morgan Freeman. Which is only fair, since Michael Douglas does the intro for NBC Nightly News (ABC has Mike Rowe).

When I read the release today announcing the artists who will receive the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors -- actress/singer/director Barbra Streisand, actor Morgan Freeman, singer George Jones, choreographer Twyla Tharp, and musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey of The Who -- my first reaction was, "It's about time!"

That was mostly about Barbra Streisand finally being named. Streisand, who's been recognized with every major show business award (two Oscars, multiple Emmys and Grammys, a special Tony, Peabody awards, an AFI, more Golden Globes and any other performer, and lots more) has been overdue for this one. It's been a glaring omission in her resume. Of course, the catch with the Kennedy Center is that you have to be there to get it.

OK, this isn't exactly "Who Shot JR," but it does have people guessing.

NBC Nightly News will have a new announcer starting tonight (longtime announcer Howard Reig retired in 2005), and they're trying to make it a surprise. The only clues from the network is that it's a name we all know, and this person had "an extensive, award-winning theatrical career for nearly forty years." Some of the guesses from fans include James Earl Jones, Patrick Stewart, James Lipton, Morgan Freeman, and ... Tom Brokaw? Yes, he was great in A Streetcar Named Desire.

If you were a kid during the early 1970s, those were your
salad days for children's programming. If you weren't getting up before your parents on Saturday mornings to watch
Scooby-Doo or Superfriends, you were up before your parents on weekday mornings to watch Captain
Kangaroo or your local kid's show.

Also likely, since you only had about four channels to choose from back
then, you were spending some time watching your local public television station. If you were really little,
you would probably be watching Sesame Street, which was just hitting its stride with all of the preschool set
(we called it nursery school back then, dangnabit!). If you had already learned all of your letters and numbers, and
Susan was losing some of her allure, you were probably watching Sesame Street's older brother -- The
Electric Company.